


Dark Night

by erikahk



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team, Team Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-06
Updated: 2013-03-06
Packaged: 2017-12-04 12:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/710786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erikahk/pseuds/erikahk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mission offworld goes bad when John's team mysteriously disappears. Now John has to fight for survival in order to find them, but he needs to find himself first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark Night

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Easter Fic Exchange at sgahcchallenges @ Livejournal. Beta'd by the great wildcat88 (@LJ)

John gasped as he ran full out , his breath a thin mist of vapor that joined the soggy weather. Heavy foliage slapped his face even though he tried to swat them out of the way. The cuts on his face and arms were stinging with the continuous pour of rain, his profuse sweating and the repetitive hits of branches, but he didn't stop or look back.   
    
He growled when his feet slid on the mud, a knobby trunk sinking into his palm as he held on to keep his footing. He kept on going, still dragging his boots. Rain splashed into the brown sludge that flew into the air as he stepped down, mud spreading up his pants and covering the entire lower half of them.   
    
The sound of his heavy breathing could barely be heard above the storm and thunder, the few flashes of lightning not enough to illumine his way. John squinted to see past the dark blur ahead of him, cursing at the moon, the clouds, the weather and himself.   
    
This wasn't supposed to turn out this way. It was supposed to be a simple recon mission.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
_Earlier:_

"Just give up, Rodney," John said as he stepped over a puddle and glanced back.

"I won't," Rodney said while he veered to the right to circle around a tree. "I stress: _vital_ work. Important to the well being of the whole expedition." Rodney grunted as he tripped on a branch, but didn't slow down the rambling. "Power requirements tables are _very_ important to the continuous survival of--" 

John laughed. "Isn't that Radek's job?" 

Rodney scowled. "Someone's got to make sure he doesn't screw up. One decimal out of place could jeopardize the entire mission." 

John lifted his P90 as he jumped over a bush. "And this sudden concern with _vital_ power requirements review has nothing to do with poisonous insects." 

"They are dangerous!" Rodney complained. 

Ronon growled. "C'mon, McKay. They only sting and make you itch for a couple of hours." He hacked around with his sword. "Besides," he said as he looked back, "they are rare in this part of the continent." 

"I am highly allergic to a number of things and could die of anaphylatic shock if I get bitten." 

John smirked. "We've got epi-pens." 

Rodney huffed. "Is that the consideration I get for the five years of dedication and...and life saving miracles?" he asked in a high pitched voice.    
    
"What are friends for?" John glanced at Rodney who was ignoring him in favor of his scanner.    
    
"Hey guys," Rodney called softly as he halted. "Look at this."   
    
John walked back to where Rodney was. "What is it?" he asked as he pushed a branch out of his sight.    
    
Rodney narrowed his eyes. "Hmmm." He tapped a few commands into the small screen. "It's gone," he said, his tone low.    
    
"What was it?" Ronon repeated John's question.    
    
"Something. A reading, but it happened too fast for me to know for certain," he elaborated as he continued to fiddle with the hand device. "It looked like an energy signature." He lifted his head. "A very strong one. But it vanished."    
    
"What do you mean, vanished?" John asked.   
    
"I mean like poof." He blew out his fingers from his hand. "Gone. One second there, the next one gone. No trace of it, like it was never even there."    
    
John cocked an eyebrow. "Is it dangerous?"   
    
"How am I supposed to know?" Rodney raised his hand. "I told you it was too brief for me to see any actual information."    
    
"Okay," John said as he turned back to the path they had been following. "Keep your eyes open. If you see anything--"   
    
"Yes, yes, no need to say it." Rodney dismissed him with a wave of his hand.    
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

"Still nothing," Rodney said as he tapped his scanner. "I knew I should have brought my tablet along."    
    
John shifted his weight from one leg to another as he watched the jungle. It was thick, thicker than it had been so far, but surprisingly without creatures. He hadn't heard a bird for several minutes and the small flying insects seemed to have disappeared. And he had noticed it just as Rodney's mysterious reading had blinked once more.    
    
"Can you at least tell me if it's dangerous?" John asked.   
    
"No." Rodney waved his hands. "I told you. It's too short for me or the scanner to determine anything. When we start getting a reading, it fades." He huffed as he went back to check the small screen.   
    
"What about its location?" Teyla asked.   
    
"Can't tell for sure. Somewhere around this area, don't know--dammit!" Rodney lifted his head. "I had it for a fraction of a second." He shook his head. "It's gone again."    
    
John sighed. "So, what now?"    
    
"We should keep walking. If we get closer, we might be able to get a better reading."    
    
John nodded. "Okay, then. We keep walking."    
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

John absently scratched his arm as he stared down the deep canyon. It was at least one hundred meters deep with a shallow river running at the bottom, cutting through rocks and forming violent rapids.    
    
"Great!" Rodney muttered beside John. "Why are the odds always against us?"    
    
John glanced at Rodney. "So, you're saying that..."   
    
"Yes." Rodney nodded. "The signal is coming from the other side."   
    
John turned his attention back to the gap and the deep jungle at the other side. Chances were that there would be no space to park a jumper there.   
    
"God! I hate forested planets!" Rodney complained.     
    
"You hate all planets, McKay," Ronon said.   
    
John turned back in time to see Ronon grinning.    
    
"Okay, boys and girl. We'll have to cross it." John smiled. "I'll check this side," he said while waving his weapon to the left. "And Ronon checks the other one. Teyla and McKay stay here, keeping an eye out for that elusive signal." John turned to Ronon. "Don't go farther than five hundred meters and check back when you reach that mark."    
    
John turned on his heel and started to walk.   
    
After no more than a couple of minutes, John’s comm came to life.   
    
"I may have something on this side, Sheppard," came Ronon's voice.    
    
John tapped his earpiece. "What? Already?"   
    
"Why? Haven't made to your end yet?" John could almost see Ronon's grin.   
    
John huffed. "Not yet. This side is really damn difficult to cross, you know."    
    
"Mine was too."   
    
John shook his head. "All right, then. Just go back to Rodney and Teyla." He tapped the earpiece again.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

John looked down the cliff and didn't see any way to climb down. He had gone the five hundred meters he was supposed to, then another hundred just to make sure and there had been no change in the scenario. John tapped his earpiece. 

"Rodney, have you picked up the signal again?"

"Yes, it's definitively coming from the other side. It's stronger now that we're close and it's started to come a lot more often than before." 

John scratched his arm again, making a mental note to put a band-aid over that cut. "Okay, I haven't found anything so I'm making my way back." 

"Right." Rodney huffed through the comm. 

"Sheppard out."

He was halfway back when his radio erupted with a blare of unintelligible curses and yells.

"John! --gr---rr----nfffsz----"

He tapped his earpiece. "Guys? What happened?" His hand wavered over the comm for a few seconds. When no answer came, he started rushing back to their last position. "Guys, are you there? Please respond." 

An intense growl was the only answer he got.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

   
    
John's blood thrummed in his ears while his own loud breathing got lost in the stormy air. His heart hammered heavily in his chest, feeling like it might hammer out. He jumped a log as his arms fruitlessly tried to keep the heavy forest from smacking his face. He kept up his pace, lungs and legs burning from the exertion. He turned right, slipping on the mud and almost falling down. He didn't lose a second recovering his footing and his boots slid when he tried to keep going. He held onto the trees to keep standing, grunting in frustration. He tried again to contact his team on the radio without slowing his escape from whatever was chasing him.    
    
"Ronon, Rodney, Teyla, are you there?" He swallowed. "This is Sheppard, anyone there?"    
    
He swore loudly and smacked a branch away with his hand. He tried to take large gulps of air, while still trying to breathe fast enough to quench starving lungs.   
    
"Dammit!"   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

 

 

 

John skidded to a halt when he reached the clearing, remote already in hand. He darted towards the uncloaking ship, the ground beneath him trembling slightly from the force of another tree crashing. He raced to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's chair while already powering on all the systems.   
    
John tapped the jumper's comm system. "Teyla, Ronon, Rodney?" He waited a few moments. "This is Sheppard. Does anyone copy?" His chest tightened when several seconds passed without a response. "Rodney, Ronon, Teyla?"    
    
John swallowed the lump in his throat and scanned for lifesigns. He blinked several times to see past the hair plastered on his forehead, dripping water in his eyes. There were no life signs registering.    
    
"That can't be."    
    
He should be at least be getting _something_. Anything. He decided to switch to their subcutaneous transmitters.    
    
Again, nothing.    
    
"Dammit!"    
    
John let out a frustrated breath and ran a hand over his face. The adrenaline of the run was beginning to fade, making him shake and his eyes sting. John swallowed and scratched his arm, annoyed at the itching laceration.   
    
He had to contact Atlantis. Yes, he needed backup. John shook his head as his vision began to haze again then he took the ship off the ground. He could fly the jumper through a storm like that.   
    
He had to.   
    
He was a several feet in the air when a violent shudder made the jumper turn several degrees off course.    
    
"What the hell?"    
    
He gripped the flight controls as the ship jumped abruptly and stopped midair, its engine crying with the strain of keeping itself above ground.    
    
"C'mon!" he cried, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the controls.   
    
The jumper jolted one last time before John slammed into the ceiling. The darkened skyline rotated around the vegetation, raindrops hitting the windshield and turning around in a sickly move that was the last thing he saw before a sharp pain engulfed him in darkness.    
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

   
    
John groaned as he came back to consciousness. It was a hard effort with the sharp pain in his head and midsection which were making him wish he could go back to sleep. He tried to remain unmoving so as to not make it spike.    
    
The big blur slowly came back into focus and he found himself sprawled between what he figured was the ceiling and the back wall of the cockpit of the jumper.    
    
John blinked. "Wh-what the hell?" he whispered softly.   
    
He lifted himself up on his elbows, hissing when his body complained with the effort. Thankfully, nothing felt broken, only bruised, strained, and lacerated.   
    
He slid backwards until he could support himself against the wall. Or was it the ceiling? Gray spots started dancing in his vision with the disorientation or maybe from the fact that he had moved. Either way, he felt like crap. He swallowed the nausea and closed his eyes.    
    
_Focus, John._   
Green smacking on his face and the sound of screaming in his left ear flashed through his mind.    
    
That had him jerking into motion, attempting to get up before he was fully recovered from the dizziness. He fell back down, muscles crying with the strain. He took a few deep breaths before trying again.    
    
He braced both hands on the wall as he raised and supported himself.

“Who put the chairs on the ceiling?” he muttered aloud before realizing the jumper was upside down.  
    
He looked through the windshield and saw one third of it covered in mud. The jumper was facing the jungle, the rain still going full force.  He stepped forward, glad to be able to walk almost in a straight line. He put both hands on the front windshield, its angle favorable for him to try to climb it. He reached his hand up and caught his foot at the edge, then reached with the other hand. He breathed through his mouth to keep the dizziness at bay and stepped on the glass while extending his hand up. He was able to touch the panel and thought _onononon_ for the few seconds his hand stayed there.    
    
Nothing happened. He tried again and cursed when the controls remained unlit. He slid back down on the ceiling that was now the floor and looked around. Maybe he could try to dial the gate. He looked down at himself and found his P90 still hanging from his vest. He unclipped it and groaned as he raised it to press the first symbol. 

Nothing. 

"Dammit!"

He rubbed his face with his free hand and tried not to sway too much while he took a moment to think. John swallowed, the blur coming back and making the walls coalesce with the shadows from the exterior as lightning split the sky. He closed his eyes but snapped them back open when a rumble of thunder echoed inside his mind, almost sounding like a guttural growl. Turning around sharply, John had to brace himself on the closest surface then jumped back when another bolt revealed two red eyes staring at him from outside.   
    
Heart jumping out of his chest, John stepped forward as darkness took over once more, then gave another pace ahead when the next flash didn't show anything outside. He planted both hands on the front shield, confused at the sudden absence of even the trees that were supposed to be on the other side. He waited a few moments and breathed in relief when the forest returned, narrowing his eyes when the pair of eyes came back yellow instead of red.   
    
The next sequence of lightning and thunder brought an added number of dark creatures, coming and going, there at one moment and gone on the next. He waited several minutes, trying to get a glimpse of what they were, but suddenly they were gone. John shook his head then groaned at the pain in his skull, bring a hand up to hold it.   
    
He flinched at the hot spike that dug into his temple, knees weakening until they gave out. The pain reverberated when he hit the floor. John stared at his hand for several moments until he finally registered the meaning of all the red covering it.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
    
John collapsed in the cockpit, head spinning so hard that he found himself staring up at the floor before he realized he had laid down. His stomach complained fiercely and he had to curl into a ball, eyes squeezed shut hard and breathing through his nose to keep its content inside. John groaned at the drilling pain in his temple, digging his nails into his palm as his body shook.   
    
God, he felt like crap.   
    
John remained in the same position, taking several deep breaths until the agony stabilized to a manageable level. He slowly opened his eyes, the blur taking too long to form images.   
    
"I need... I need to fix the ship," he mumbled as he tried to sit up.   
    
He had to find his team.   
    
John leaned back against the wall, waiting until everything around him decided to stop moving. When he opened his eyes and saw the floor attached to the ceiling, the nausea came back with a vengeance and forced his eyes closed again.   
    
That was just great. How could he help his team if he couldn't even open his eyes without throwing up?   
    
He snapped his head up when a roar, deep and strong, came from close by outside. John whipped his head around when a piercing sound cut the air like claws tearing apart metal. Loud bangs joined in, coming from all around him, front, back, ceiling and sides, dozens of them, howling, hitting and scratching the exterior of the ship.   
    
He felt the vibrations under him as the sounds climbed to deafening levels, more and more creatures joining the initial party. John stood up and walked dizzily to the front section, stepping back when huge teeth glistened under a flash of lightning, red eyes staring intently when darkness took over again, like two tiny flashlights cutting through the black jungle. More pairs of eyes blinked into existence, bloody and angry, and then the creatures exploded to action, racing towards him. John braced himself but fell backwards when they banged the exterior, a crack tearing the air like sharp glass as they repeated the motion, making the thin line on the windshield expand to a spider web.   
    
John backed away to the rear, his head hitting the floor when a violent quake shook the jumper. Red hot pain overloaded his senses, the thrum of blood rushing through his head deafening until it merged with the sounds reverberating from the hull of the ship. More crashes came from the front and as night blinked and turned to day, John momentarily saw a huge mass of black racing towards the glass. John scrambled upwards and collapsed forward against the wall separating both sections of the ship, slapping it until he found the controls that shut it closed.   
    
Everything fell silent as John melted against the bulkhead and slid downwards, legs turning to jelly and failing to keep him up. He crawled to the middle of the jumper and curled into a ball, moaning at the lacerating pain inside his skull.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Ronon gasped a lungful of air when he broke the surface of the water, teeth clattering at the freezing cold as he fought the current taking him farther away from his target. He swam and kicked, using the momentum gained from a sudden drop in the river to kick the rock and get closer to Rodney.   
    
Rodney was struggling, hands flailing as he screamed unintelligibly. Ronon pushed himself nearer until he was close enough to grab Rodney's vest and pull him against his bigger torso. Rodney yelled and fought Ronon, slapping his hands and kicking his legs, making it difficult to get a good grip. His strength gave Ronon the advantage and he was able to hug Rodney from behind, keeping both arms tangled and locked between both of their bodies. Rodney cried and begged, breath hitching while he attempted to keep his mouth away from the water.   
    
The rapids grew fierce, giant rocks cutting the river. Ronon bounced from one to another as bruises made themselves known with each hit. Rodney began to slip away and resumed his desperate struggle, forcing Ronon to give up his position above water to keep a good grip, sinking both underwater. Rodney slowed down and screamed a lungful of bubbles around them as Ronon squeezed both arms around Rodney's chest, until he felt Rodney's arms twist under the pressure and stop moving around. Ronon used the few seconds to kick upwards and break free, both men gasping and spitting out mouthfuls of water.   
    
Another huge rock approached, visible for only fractions of a second before the night blinked back to darkness. Ronon tried to position himself and turned backwards against it, screaming in pain when he impacted hard against its sharp edge. He forced his muscles to keep him positioned in place, his arms busy holding down Rodney and unable to hold both still. Pain exploded in his back, warmth seeping down his skin and contrasting with the cold water. Ronon shifted his body, the cut digging deeper until his body broke away from the rock and snuggled to the small crevice it had with the edge of the river bank.   
    
Water continued to hit and slapped Rodney's face while Ronon fought to not be sucked into the fierce current downriver. A shout made Ronon snap his head around until he saw a flashlight dancing among the trees on the bank, running fast to meet them both.   
    
"In here, Teyla!" Ronon shouted as she quickened her pace towards them.   
    
She crashed to her knees next to the margin and extended a hand as far as she could while bracing herself on the tree behind her. Ronon pushed Rodney upwards and gripped him stronger with one hand while he freed another to hold Teyla's. She pushed both of them hard as Ronon helped with his feet, pushing against the rock until they began sliding on the moss covering its top. His feet slipped on the moisture but he managed to reach dry land, Rodney laying limp on top of Ronon's body.   
    
Ronon nodded a thanks to Teyla who appeared at his side to remove the dead weight from on top of him. Ronon rolled to his side and coughed, spitting up water until he felt like he was hacking up his lungs too. When he opened his eyes he saw Teyla checking Rodney's pulse and smiling faintly under the weak light of her torch. She started removing Rodney's drenched clothes then wrapped him in a thermal blanket she had removed from his vest.   
    
"What the hell was that?" Ronon asked when he felt his throat was no longer burning.   
    
"I do not know," Teyla responded, still a little breathless. "He just... jumped into the water."   
    
"Yeah. It was like he was afraid of something. He kept fighting me."   
    
"He was scared, Ronon. You know Rodney."   
    
Ronon nodded and almost chuckled. He looked up and saw the heavy rain drops making their descent, still as strong as they had been for the last several minutes.   
    
"We should find shelter." Ronon looked at Teyla. "Did you find Sheppard?"   
    
She shook her head. "I was unable to make contact. I heard him, but he seemed unable to hear me,"she said, sounding intrigued. "The last I heard of him, he was panting hard and calling us through the radio. I tried to respond, but he did not listen."   
    
"Do you think that energy signal could be messing with the radio?"   
    
Teyla nodded. "It is possible."   
    
Ronon got up and moved to lift Rodney. Teyla rose to her feet as well and indicated a direction with her head.   
    
"There were many rocky formations that way; maybe we can find a cave there," she said.   
    
Ronon nodded. "Okay, let's go."   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
John narrowed his eyes as the growls increased. The banging had stopped, but the creatures hadn't gone away. They circled around the ship, howling and pacing. Sometimes John thought he could see them through the bulkhead. Their sounds were clear, almost as if they were inside the ship.   
    
He crawled to the wall and sat up, still clutching his head and breathing deep to keep the nausea at bay as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a shaking hand. He needed to keep it together. He needed to find his team.   
    
The last John had heard them they had been shouting in his ear. He saw the empty clearing surrounded by those creatures. He might be feeling like crap but he still could put two and two together.   
    
John snapped up when he heard running steps and the howls circling the jumper. The creatures growled and rushed away, their sounds growing distant until they vanished.   
    
John waited a few moments to make sure they were really gone then rose to his feet and staggered to the rear bulkhead, placing his ear against it to hear the noise outside. When no sound came in, John turned around, holding his head when everything spun too hard. He took longer than he would have liked to realize his P90 was locked in the front section. He zigzagged towards it, opening the closed door and hesitating before stepping into the front. He found his weapon tossed on the ground amidst shards of glass which he avoided. He clipped it to his vest and proceeded to the hatch, palming the control to open it.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Ronon put Rodney down inside the dry cave and stayed on his knees, grimacing as his muscles pulled the cut on his back. Rodney mumbled something in his sleep, turning his head and begging imaginary monsters to stay away.   
    
He nodded an assurance when Teyla touched his shoulder. "We should make a fire."   
    
"I found some dry branches." She waved at a pile she had made at the center of the cave. "You should dry yourself."   
    
Ronon shook his head and ignored her stern look. "Gotta find Sheppard. Something is going on here."   
    
"Do you think that whatever happened to Rodney may have affected John?"   
    
Ronon nodded. "You said he was running. Why didn't he come to us?"   
    
"And Rodney appeared to be trying to escape from something when he jumped."   
    
"Exactly."   
    
She tilted her head. "Then why aren't we being affected?"   
    
Ronon shrugged. "We've seen stuff that affects them and not us before."   
    
She nodded. "Then we must act. John may injure himself like Rodney."   
    
"I'm gonna look for him," Ronon said as he walked towards the cave opening. "You should stay and look after Rodney."   
    
Teyla approached him. "Be careful. The jungle could be dangerous."   
    
Ronon smiled. "I know how to take care of myself."   
    
She smiled. "I know."   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
John narrowed his eyes along his weapon and snapped around at the rustle of leaves on his left. The P90 lit the forest faintly but nothing was moving. The storm had stopped and the air was so still he felt the heat of the humidity clinging on his skin. He snapped right when branches cracked, firing his gun in two rapid bursts.   
    
Nothing. Everything was calm and lifeless again. John bit his lip to hold down a groan and raised his hand to clutch his pounding head. A growl made him turn around and start racing, a brush of leaves clearing a path ahead of him.   
    
He yelled when he heard a cry and a shout, the female voice far too familiar. He bounced his shoulder on a tree and crashed down hard, the pain inside his skull spiking and making his eyes tear up. He brought his knees up and dug his nails into his hair, crying out and begging it to stop. He didn't have time for this. He need to help Teyla.   
    
John pushed himself up with one hand, vision blurring and graying, then staggered upwards, placing one foot after the other, going forward and gripping the trunks to keep standing. He no longer ran, but he could walk and damn him if he let a stupid headache keep him from stopping those aliens that had his team.   
    
He had walked a few feet when a branch snapping nearby made him dart his head around, trying to find the source of the sound. It rushed around him, circling fast, one minute behind and the next right in front of him. John fired his P90, but the creature kept up its pace until it jumped, a giant mass of black growing until it knocked the air out of his lungs when it threw him backwards.   
    
He cried out at the explosion of pain in his head, breathing hard, curling to his side as he tried to ride it out. John kicked and shouted as he felt a tug on his leg, piercing skin and dragging him along the forest. John stretched out his hand, trying to reach his fallen gun, fingertips brushing the barrel but unable to get a grip. John followed the cone of light but saw nothing more than a blur of black coming in and out of focus as it continued to pull his body.   
    
A new creature joined the first and took hold of John's other leg, making him yell as it lacerated his foot, removing boot and tearing his pants. John reached for the nine mil and forced weak fingers to grip it as he fired round after round, hearing the smack of bullet hitting flesh until the dull sound of an empty clip echoed in the forest.   
    
John went back to kicking, teeth sinking into his ankle as he pulled his leg away, tears, mud, cries and growls mixing together.   
    
Air vanished from his lungs when another creature landed on his chest, digging claws in his arms with such strength that John was unable to move them. He snarled furiously and in a surge of strength was able to push away and slip from its grip. John staggered through the forest, feet and legs barely working and his head feeling like it was going to split in two.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Ronon followed the tracks using Teyla's lamp, the boot prints unmistakable. The distance between each indicated John had been running fast, slipping and skidding on the mud, but Ronon didn't see any tracks chasing him.   
    
When Ronon reached the clearing where the jumper had been, he froze, seeing the tracks stop in the middle of the field, the ship gone. He jerked his head around, the light dancing on the tree line until he made out a spot on the edge that showed the trees torn away and bent forward. He raced towards it and saw a line of destruction which he followed until he saw the jumper crashed in the middle of a destroyed patch of forest.   
    
Ronon walked slowly towards the open rear and examined the interior, realizing the hatch was half open upwards instead of down. The inside of the ship was a mess of broken equipment, everything thrown on the ceiling that now was the floor. He knelt down at a dark smudge and slid a finger in it.   
    
Blood.   
    
He looked inside the front section, but the ship was empty. Ronon exited and examined the area immediately around, seeing one single set of tracks stumbling into the jungle.   
    
Now, Sheppard didn't appear to be running anymore, his tracks near each other and erratic, going to one side then suddenly stopping and going to the other. He saw red handprints on the trees then more in the mud where he appeared to have fallen.   
    
When a cry reached his ears, Ronon darted towards it, then dove to the ground when a sequence of gunshots buzzed past his ear. He cursed inwards and crawled towards the noise, finding Sheppard struggling with himself on the muddy ground, nine mil clutched in hand and still firing towards his feet.   
    
Afraid Sheppard might hurt himself, Ronon jumped on him and held him down, pinning both his arms to the ground, but slipping with all the mud around them.   
    
"Sheppard!" Ronon called. "Sheppard, stop! It's me, Ronon!"   
    
Sheppard yelled then somehow was able to slip out from under him and stumble away, barely able to walk, let alone run.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
They were everywhere. John staggered forward, falling and holding himself up on the trunks, head snapping in all directions. Their numbers had multiplied and had him surrounded. John backed away against a large tree and gripped his knife, using the last bit of fight left in him. The largest of the creatures approached him slowly, probably knowing John still posed some danger. John supported most of his weight on the trunk, locking his knees so they wouldn't give out.   
    
The forest revolved around him, blurring out of focus, his vision graying at the edges. John knew it was just a matter of time before his body gave out, but he would go down fighting. He changed his stance to show it, the adrenaline ready to fade, but still pumping.   
    
The alien charged forward and easily blocked the slash meant for it and butted its head on John's chest, tackling him and trying to get John to drop. John resisted it as best as he could, arm shaking with the strain of struggle, knife still gripped tightly. John brought a knee up and hit its gut without much effect. John's legs weakened and he used the last of his strength to try to keep standing, black spots dancing and growing, his head feeling heavy and tilting down. John resisted , but he knew it was a losing battle, finally whispering an apology to his team before his eyelids drooped and his legs gave out.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

Ronon snapped forward, grabbing Sheppard before he hit the ground. He was slowing Sheppard down when he heard the familiar engine approaching from the sky. Ronon tapped his earpiece to make contact.

"Lorne, is that you?"

"Affirmative. What's your status?" 

"Sheppard and McKay are out but I don't know why. I think they were having hallucinations." 

"Copy that. I'm taking the jumper down in that clearing, can you make it that far?"

"Yeah." Ronon bent to pick Sheppard up. "But you'll need to send someone to pick McKay up. He's with Teyla inside a cave," he said as he started his way back to the clearing.

"All right, I've got their signal. As soon as you arrive in the jumper I'll fly to the river bank near their location."

"I'm on my way." Ronon closed the connection and sped up his pace.

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Carson hurried down the halls of Atlantis, one hand on his earpiece and the other holding the medical emergency bag. He met the offworld rescue team midway to the infirmary, his two patients being wheeled in a hurry. 

Carson placed a hand on the small of Teyla's back. "What happened to them?"   
    
She was a little wet and covered in half-dry mud, much like the other members of the team. She took a deep breath to compose herself.   
    
"We do not know, Carson. We were tracking an energy signal when Rodney suddenly panicked. He ran away and fell into a river. Ronon went after him and we dragged him from the water. I kept him warm, removed his clothes and found shelter in a cave while Ronon went looking for John who was showing similar symptoms."   
    
The gurneys were taken inside the infirmary but Carson stopped at the door to continue talking to Teyla. "What about you two? Any symptoms?"   
    
Teyla shook her head and so did Ronon. "No, Carson. Whatever affected John and Rodney did not affect us."   
    
"All right, but I want you two checked nevertheless. Rita, dear, can you do it for me?" Carson nodded at the young doctor who stepped up to help then hurried inside after his two troublesome patients.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Richard slowly entered the isolated area of the infirmary where Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay were being kept. He knocked on the wall to call the attention of Doctor Beckett who was silently reading a chart. Teyla and Ronon rose from their seats next to the two patients as Richard walked closer.  
    
"How are they?" Richard asked, the faces of not only Ronon and Teyla, but also of Doctor Becket already showing the answer to his question.  
    
Beckett sighed. That was never a good sign. Richard glanced at the patient's beds, noticing the constant jerk of limbs both presented as well as their sweaty foreheads and loud breathing.   
    
"They're sleeping. Rodney here nearly drowned, but should recover from it without many problems. Colonel Sheppard had a concussion but it is already showing signs of improvement. That’s the good news."   
    
Richard nodded. "Okay, what’s the bad news?"   
    
"Well, I ran their blood work, did a full scan and did a few extra tests just to be certain and I can tell you that they have some kind of infection, though I'm still working out the details."   
    
Richard slowly turned to Sheppard's bed as he moaned in his sleep. "An infection? Is it contagious?" Richard looked at Beckett.   
    
Beckett shook his head. "I do not believe so. I examined both Ronon and Teyla, as well as myself and the medical staff and found no sign of the pathogen. I found record of it in our database and I'm certain that it's only contagious through direct contact on an open wound and is not airborne." He looked back at his two patients. "That's why I'm keeping them isolated, but without a full quarantine." He looked back at Richard. "Besides, Atlantis didn't go into lockdown, meaning that whatever got in them is not in our air."   
    
Richard nodded. "What is it doing to them?"   
    
Beckett turned and went to a monitor. He turned on the computer and showed an enlarged image of their cells, but that was all that Richard's high school biology class was able to determine.   
    
"This is an much enlarged portion of Rodney's cells, provided by our Ancient scanner. As you know, the Ancient scanner has some capabilities that the doctors from Earth can't even imagine possible and can show us even the proteins on their membranes." He switched the image to another one virtually identical in Richard's eyes. "This one I just took a few hours ago. The red substances indicated in this area are proteins that are currently placed on their ATA gene cell receptors."   
    
"What does this mean?"   
    
"Well, as you know the ATA gene is always on and creates certain substances that interact with our skin to make us able to activate Ancient technology. The ATA gene sensitive equipment is able to sense these specific proteins and function, obeying according to the user's brain command. Without recognizing these proteins, the equipment cannot feel the user's directions."   
    
Richard nodded.   
    
"The red substances that I showed you are mostly in their brains and are using exactly the same receptor as the ATA gene, but it is a mutant protein. From what I can ascertain, it is caused by a virus that connects to the DNA of their cells and causes the ribosomes to create these mutant versions of the protein instead of the correct ones. Since it's in their brains, it is interacting with other substances only present in our heads and causing a number of visual and auditory hallucinations."   
    
"That's why they behaved strangely offworld?" Richard asked.   
    
"Aye." Beckett turned back to the beds. "They are trying to fight it off, but it is difficult for their immune systems to find the aggressor since its protein is so similar to the ATA protein." He looked back at Richard. "I'm giving them some strong antiviral medication and waiting to see an improvement."   
    
"Carson," Teyla started. "Could this be the reason why John was unable to fly the jumper?"   
    
Beckett nodded. "Most certainly. The jumper is extremely sensitive to Colonel Sheppard's gene and was not detecting the correct protein required to obey his command. The bloody thing probably got confused and ended up hurting him further."   
    
"Doctor." Richard stepped forward. "Does this mean that Colonel Sheppard can be more intensely affected by this virus?"   
    
"That too. From what Teyla and Ronon described, and from what I can read from their brain activity, Colonel Sheppard is being much more severely affected than Rodney. That could be a problem. Since he has a higher number of ATA receptors, much larger than I have detected in anyone else, the virus is able to create more of the mutant protein and wreak more havoc in his brain."   
    
"When will we know if the antiviral is working?"   
    
"In a few hours. At least Rodney should show an improvement in that time. Colonel Sheppard on the other hand..." He sighed. "He should take a little longer, and there could be complications." Beckett rubbed a hand on his face. “And I was hoping to have an uneventful week while I filled in for Jennifer.”  
    
Richard sighed. Things were never easy in the Pegasus Galaxy.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Monsters. John was sure they were lurking around the jungle. He ran deeper into the forest, trying to find the jumper but unable to. He turned and raced to opposite sides, having totally lost his sense of direction. John panicked and breathed hard, creatures surrounding him.   
    
He took off again, either away or towards them, John wasn't sure. He tried to go faster, but instead he slowed down until he dropped to the ground, too tired to take another step. They overran him, climbing his body, biting and tearing his clothes as he tried to fight them off, screaming and crying as his skin was split and torn apart.   
    
John begged them to stop but they didn't.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Teyla gripped John's fingers with one hand and wiped his brow with the other. He moaned low in his sleep, head turning as his breathing hitched. She fought away tears that filled her eyes at seeing his constant battle with his own mind. 

"Shhhh, John. It's all right. We are here."   
    
Her words had no effect and he still tossed from his dream. She turned her head to look at Carson who was approaching the bed. He touched her shoulder and smiled faintly.   
    
"Carson, how long is this going to go on?"   
    
Carson patted her back. "I don't know, love." He turned his head to Rodney's bed. "Rodney is starting to show an improvement. His latest exam showed a lowered number of mutant proteins."   
    
Teyla took a deep breath and nodded. "That's good, Carson."   
    
With Rodney starting to improve, she hoped John would follow soon. She sent a small prayer to the Ancestors.  
    
"We're doing our best, dear."   
    
Teyla closed her eyes. "I know, Carson."   
    
He squeezed her shoulder then proceeded to the other side of bed to take John's vitals. Teyla was not a doctor but after so many years living in Atlantis, she knew how to read some graphs. John's signs were holding, his heartbeat still too fast, but she had noticed the decrease, even if only a very small one. The nurse had said it was normal to have a small variation, but Teyla hoped it was something more.  
    
Ronon arrived at that moment and sat down slowly in his chair. Teyla did not fail to notice his small grimace.   
    
He also appeared to have noticed her look. "I'm fine."   
    
Teyla smiled.   
    
"How are they?" Ronon jerked his head to the beds.   
    
"Rodney is improving, but John is going slow."   
    
Ronon nodded. "He's always slow. But when he starts being slower than McKay, then we have a problem." He meant it as a joke but his tone of voice was almost a complete opposite.   
    
Teyla tried to take it as he had meant it.. "I'm not sure John would appreciate that comment."   
    
Ronon shrugged innocently then turned towards John's bed, his look turning to worry and grieve. "He'll be all right," he said almost sounding like it was an order.  
   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Ronon jumped up with the light touch on his shoulder. He turned his head with only one eye open, growling at whoever had awaken him.   
    
"Sorry, lad. I didn't mean to startle you."   
    
"You should be careful. I could have shot you," Ronon said angrily then turned to look at the beds, glad to find neither of them tossing and turning from their dreams.   
    
Beckett's smile vanished and turned to a small grimace. "Aye, I'm glad you didn't."He turned towards McKay's bed. "Rodney's ATA protein level is almost back to normal."   
    
Ronon stared at the doctor, wondering if what he said was a good thing. He switched his stare towards Sheppard, fighting against the urge to get up and do something. He hated feeling useless whenever their problems were more than having to shoot at an enemy. But in this case the enemy was too small for Ronon's abilities.

"What about Sheppard?" Ronon asked.  
    
Carson looked down at Sheppard, his blue eyes soft. "He's giving the little buggers a hell of a fight, I have to say. But I'm afraid he still has some more fighting to do."   
    
Ronon nodded. He wouldn't have believed otherwise. Sheppard was a fighter all the way to the end. The way he had fought with him, even injured and confused as he had been was a testament to that.   
    
"But, he's going to be all right," Carson continued. He tapped Sheppard's shoulder then moved to Rodney's bed.   
    
Ronon stared at their sleeping forms for several moments until a soft moaning had him snapping his head up to look at Rodney.   
    
Carson was already leaning closer to his patient, whispering something to him. Ronon got up and walked to his bedside, arriving just as Rodney began to open his bleary eyes.   
    
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Rodney," Beckett said with a small smile tugging his lips.   
    
Rodney groaned and tried to move his hand, failing miserably. "Wha'happn'd?"   
    
"You tried to take a dive into a river while escaping imaginary monsters," Ronon responded.   
    
"What?" Rodney turned two confused eyes to Beckett.   
    
"Never mind that. You got a bit sick that's all." Carson tapped Rodney's shoulder. "But don't worry, you'll be all right."   
    
Rodney moaned and closed his eyes, soon resuming his peaceful sleep.   
 

~~~***~~~***~~~

    
Quiet. Everything had turned to peace inside the forest. John looked up as he started to see the first light the new sun brought after the stormy night. John turned his head down, the trees surrounded by calmness, no tree moving, no leave brushing, no molecule of air blowing too hard.   
    
Light. Maybe these creatures only attacked at night.   
    
John walked slowly, paying attention to a distant voice calling his name. As he approached, he recognized Teyla's lullaby and soon other voices joined in. Ronon's deep rumble and... Carson's? There was also someone mid-rant and John couldn't help but smile. His team was all right. The creatures hadn't got to them.   
    
John tried to get closer, to make them clearer, but the more he tried, the more the forest seemed to fade. Soon, he could only see darkness, a bit of dark red penetrating his closed eyelids. He frowned, not remember having closed his eyes. It took a few moments for him to register he was on a soft bed, and then other sensations started to join the voices. Smells, beeps, a gentle touch brushing his hand. He tried to squeeze it and was pleased when his limb obeyed. He recognized Teyla's small hand squeezing in return and started to open his eyes.   
    
A blur of faces slowly came into focus. They were all there. And they were all right.   
    
“Hey.” Carson smiled. “Welcome back, Colonel.”   
    
John tried to form words but coughed instead. Carson placed a straw in his mouth and John sucked it, closing his eyes when moisture penetrated his lips.   
    
“Thanks,” he whispered.   
    
“How are you feeling, John?” Teyla asked, still holding his hand.   
    
“Heavy like I slept for a week,” he tried to say.   
    
Carson smiled. “Well, just a couple of days.”   
    
John frowned. “Really?”   
    
“Aye, you had a bit of a viral infection, but it's all sorted out now.”   
    
John remained on his pillow, trying to remember what had happened. “I... don't remember getting sick. There was... there were...” He frowned remembering the creatures chasing him in the jungle.  
    
“We were offworld when it happened,” Rodney explained. “It's a virus that connects to our ATA gene protein and creates pretty convincing hallucinations that--”   
    
“Rodney!” Carson batted away Rodney moving hands. “Give him a minute before boring him with details.”   
    
“Hallucinations?”   
    
“Aye, lad. You had a pretty rough time with it.”   
    
John narrowed his eyes and focused on the ceiling. “So it... it wasn't real?” He looked into Carson's eyes.   
    
“No, it wasn't.” Carson squeezed his shoulder. “There was never any danger and whatever monsters you were fighting off were only in your head.”   
    
John nodded. “That's... that's good.” He brething in and out deepily.  
    
“Now, you need to rest. Your body is still recovering from the infection.”   
    
John looked at the faces of his team, all smiling and okay. He tried keeping his eyes open for as long as he could to reassure himself, but they ended up closing despite his best efforts.   
    
But he knew that his team would still be there when he woke up.   
 

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt:
> 
> Character(s) I want in the fic: Sheppard a must, Team or maybe just one of them with him, Carson as Dr.  
> My likes: Shep whump, realistic injury detail and recovery. Action, Team, offworld or Atlantis is fine.  
> My squicks: deathfic  
> My request: For a change I'd like to see Sheppard brought low/ill etc by something small that escalates because he can't get the medicine/pills/sleep/whatever he needs because he's either trapped offworld/in Atlantis in lockdown/whatever. Could be a toothache or blow to mouth needing dental treatment and he gets an abscess/infection. Or maybe he's on the run after being captured and now has no boots and geta a pair from a guard/whatever he kills and they are too small/big and he gets huge blisters/agony etc etc. Maybe someone bites him/or a dog/animal on the arm/leg during a fight and it all goes nasty...etc etc


End file.
